Articles
Country Thunder Alberta 2023
Written By : Samuel Hope
Country Thunder Alberta 2023 was a huge success this year, the line ups for all three days on the main stage were absolutely incredible. Even when there was no artist on stage, they had music playing through the speakers to keep the crowd entertained and there was non-stop cheering and dancing especially when they played “Sweet Caroline”.
The kick off of day one of Country Thunder was a little cloudy and rainy but we were lucky enough that we didn’t get rain during the shows. As for the two following days, the weather wasn’t too hot or too cold, perfect to spend a nice summer day outside to listen to some great country music.
The highlight of the festival was how much the artists interacted with the crowd and kept the energy going throughout all three days. My personal favourites were Jon Pardi and his band members when they were jamming out at the front of the catwalk. Tim McGraw was another huge highlight of this year’s Country Thunder.
The crowd seemed to love how he would walk up and down the catwalk and shake the hands of his fans and say hello as well as point them out when he was performing. It was great to see someone like Keith Urban take time at the end of his show to interact with the fans and sign some hats. He actually took the time to help a fan with a marriage proposal, now that’s something you don’t witness everyday… and last but not least Bailey Zimmerman, he made the crowd go absolutely wild, especially when he ran off stage and into the crowd, they all lost their minds!!
Overall, this year’s Country Thunder was a fantastic experience, very much worth it and definitely worth going back next year.
TRIBUTE BAND BRINGS THE DEF LEPPARD EXPERIENCE BACK TO THE STAGE
Written By: Isabella Favel
As Canada’s Def Leppard Tribute Band, Stage Fright has brought the classics of Def Leppard back to the stage. Covering not only the 40th anniversary of the “Pyromania” album but also playing hits from the “Hysteria”, “High ’n’ dry” as well as “Euphoria” albums to notably name a few.
One question often asked to a Def Leppard Tribute band is if your drummer can play with one arm. The answer for this band is yes he can, and it’s the correct arm.
This band was all for the fans and made every fan somehow fell involved in the show. For all the two hours played the fans had a blast from singing along and dancing to dressing up in the whole nine yards as members as the original band.
Stage Fight really knows how to bring the songs and experience of Def Leppard back to the stage.
Get To Know The Reklaws
Written By: Isabella Favel
The Reklaws have an interesting story. If you have never heard of the Reklaws they are a brother and sister duo Stuart and Jenna Walker from a farm in Ontario. The name Reklaws comes from the siblings last name. When deciding on what to call the band their mom had come up with the name because sibling rivalry was not making the final cut.
Getting their start performing halftime shows at the pig races on the family farm for the guests. The first gig as the Reklaws was the talent competition in their hometown of Cambridge Ontario. The song in which they performed was a cover of “Jackson” by June and Johnny Cash. Stu recalls this was the first time he played electric guitar. We had asked Stu and Jenna about their songwriting process, to them they are very much about emotions when writing lyrics. For example when they wrote their song “People don’t talk about” a song about their mom as well as shining the light on mental health and the stigma around mental health.
Which is something people don’t talk about. Stu and Jenna were able to make their debut on the America’s Got Talent stage. “People don’t talk about”. When asked about performing the show they said it was very different then other stages they have played the pressure was different, the part with the most pressure was playing in front of Simon Cowell. The Reklaws are the sibling duo of Canada and they will be the next artist to be added to your playlist.
Get To Know Nice Horse
Written By: Isabella Favel
Nice Horse is a country duo out of Alberta, Canada. The band consists of Katie Rox and Brandi Sidoryk. Nice Horse started on a beach in Hawaii on a songwriting trip. When coming up with a band name the ladies could not think of a name.
They came up with a few but did not make the final cut. Finally the name nice horse came up. As said by Katie in our interview with nice horse “ Have you ever seen a horse that doesn’t look nice”. Katie and Brandi both have a love of horses so the name just fit. It was revealed that people have told the ladies that when you hear the name nice horse you know what kind of band it’s going to be. These ladies are not only band mates but best friends. Nice Horse are the true definition of Canadian Cowgirls, they are definitely worth a listen.
The Story Of Morgan Klaiber
Written By: Samuel Hope
Here is the story behind Alberta’s very our Morgan Klaiber based out of Cypress County, Medicine Hat Alberta.
Morgan is the true image of an albertan country girl, when she isn’t rocking the stage or writing music, she works full-time at her parents cattle ranch. Whenever she gets all her writing and recording done is during winter months. Morgan grew up listening to the old traditional country music as well as 70s,80s and 90s rock music which is what brought her amazing style of country music to life. Morgan was inspired by Cody Johnson and is her absolute dream to collaborate with him since they both have such powerful and amazing voices.
She recently just finished recording her debut album and will be released on October 19th 2024 at midnight, huge Congratulations to one of our very own home artists. She was very fortunate to get the chance to work with many big names on her debut album. So Calgary let’s get ready for the release of this amazing album to be released in October, this album will make you want to put your boots on kick some dirt and start dancing.
She recently got the opportunity to perform main stage at Country Thunder Alberta and Big Valley Jamboree. She got their chance to play on the same stage as one of her idol’s Cody Johnson and one of the biggest names in Country Music Luke Combs. Morgan played three shows on August 17th 2024 first one on the main stage at Country Thunder and the Country 105 stage, same night she performed at the King Eddy bar in Downtown Calgary. After her first performance on the Main stage at Country Thunder the crowd started to migrate over to the country 105 stage to see her perform one more time since she put on one heck of a show.
Mariya Stokes Experience
Written By: Isabella Favel
Mariya Stokes started day 3 of Country Thunder off with a bang. The Calgary based artist is no stranger to the stage. From making up songs to sing in her carseat to being snuck into the local the bar to play with her dads bar band at 8 years old. One could say music has always been in Mariya’s blood.
Mariya also added being from a small town and playing music is one of the coolest experiences because she will always have that community. To Mariya it was interesting playing the main stage at County Thunder. She had played the Country 105 stage before but the mainstage felt different. She had many different emotions she didn’t think she would have. When asked to play the mainstage to Mariya it was almost like a dream come true. She told us she felt excited and joy. In both her music and her attire she pays a nod to 1970’s style. Mariya Stokes is another amazing Canadian artist to put on one hell of a show.
From there she would go on to perform the national anthem at the rodeos in her hometown of Stavely to bull rides, bridal and baby showers. Wherever she could sing. At 18 years old Mariya made the decision to move to the big city of Calgary to give music a shot. Mariya’s hometown of Stavely is home to the first indoor pro rodeo in Canada, if you ask anyone from there they are all really proud of it. When asked how she felt being from a small town she said there are a lot of people who support her and help her grow.
The Story Of Jennie Harluk
Written By: Samuel Hope
Jennie got the chance to perform on the Country 105 stage this year at Country Thunder Alberta 2024. She had fans kicking the dirt with their boots and dancing on a hot sunny day. She loves to hang around her fans after her performances and chat with them for a little bit and get to know them. Jennie absolutely blew her performance out of the park fantastic job!
Calgary’s very own Jennie Harluk has been singing her entire life and is self taught.
She was inspired by her father and Faith Hill that is how she got her style in country music. Jennie has been singing for the past 12 years of her life her first gig was at the age of 5 years old. She has a very unique music style which is a mix of country and pop.
The Historical Performance
Written By: Samuel Hope
Calgary was very lucky to host one of the biggest names in Country Music this year, Luke Combs put on one hell of a show at Country thunder Alberta 2024. Luke was very interactive with his fans he had over 50,000 fans singing with him this year which is absolutely insane!!
At the start of his performace he started with couple songs from his previous album then sang a couple newer ones from his newest “Fathers And Sons” . The performance got more emotional and faster after those songs. When os came to the encore he closed with “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart”…him closing the show and the festival with both of those songs not only made it more of a party but also made fans cry. Now that is what you call a superstar right there.
Thank you so much Luke for you historical appearance here in Calgary, we look forward to hosting another one of your shows soon!!
Fans were going nuts when he came out on stage since the was the closing act of the entire festival. On day three all you saw were fans wearing Luke shirts and hats singing along to his songs playing from their phones. He has also inspired many artist in this style of music such as post Malone since they collaborated in a song called “Guy For That”.
